The Manager
Simon, in his bed, is looking at the window and sees the Sun's rays evading the blinds and entering his room. He rises and will relieve himself of yesterday in the stillness. When he clicks a button, the blinds in his one-bedroom apartment open, allowing light to enter his abode and seed his microcosm with its influence. The only command of the gentle tyrant, the Sun, was 'move.'
He curses the Sun under his breath, knowing of its weird ways, but avails to the prompt.
He turned on his stereo and connected it to his phone while his tea steeps. As he plans for a job interview, one he has faint hope for, he hears the Tune. She is akin to other melodies, but her metaphor is altogether different. He sees the name on his smartphone, and as he taps it, the program crashes. Simon is surprised and tries the search box after the app restarts, but the resolution does not come. He feels a slight fear; and leaps to the conclusion of strange influences quite quickly.
He cautiously drinks his tea as concerns pass through his mind, but he rejects them and tells himself he was never easily spooked. When he emptied the cup, he picked up his keys and walked out the door.
Driving his car to the business he is interviewing at, he hears some songs he has heard before. They sound different—the phrases sung and the notes played do not add together to what he previously believed they did. He notices a theme and a moral to the musical stories, and they all say: “Recommence and sustain the system.” He rejects the perceived message as he enters the building. A person leads Simon to the waiting room. He puts in his earphones and waits, and as he opens his phone, he sees the song recommended on the lock screen.
He touches the 'play' button without hesitation. This time, listening to the Tune, he hears the words: “Break and dissolve.” By the time the song ended, the door was wide open. Simon sees with supernatural clarity his name on the desk in the office as a luminous fog whirls in it.